The Familiar

by Leigh Bardugo

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family's social position. 

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. 

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both. 

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent and creator of the Grishaverse comes a bewitching historical novel set in the Spanish Golden Age, brimming with peril and dark deeds

• Publish Date: 11 April 2024 (first published 9 April 2024)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Viking
• Edition: Waterstones Exclusive
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 476
• Language: English
• Special: Sprayed Edges

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Luzia Cotado has spent most of her life desperately hiding her power. This means that, for the most part, she spends day after day fighting the urge to improve her life. Given her life as a scullery maid, that urge is ever present.

One day, Luzia makes a mistake. She uses her talent in what she thought was innocuous enough. But it was spotted. Worse, it was noticed by the lady of the house, and that will kick off a series of events that Luzia cannot run from.

My Review:

If there’s one thing I can say about Leigh Bardugo, it’s that her adult novels always surprise me. Enter The Familiar. This book is nothing and exactly like what I expected it to be. It’s a magical thriller with historical and romantic elements but with Bardugo’s style.

In truth, I’m not entirely sure how to feel about The Familiar. There were elements I liked (Luzia’s secret, the politics, even some of the romantic subplots), but there were just as many elements that felt overly drawn out.

Overall, I’d say that The Familiar was a risk, and it mostly paid off. I think that a lot of potential was left sitting on the table (especially regarding how/why magic was forced to be such a secret for so many people - I can guess, but a bit more overt storytelling would have been nice here).

Highlights:
Historical Fantasy
Magical Realism
Romantic Fantasy
Dark Fantasy

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